Greece’s Privatization Fund Approves 14 Candidates For DEPA Bid

The Hellenic Republic Asset Management Fund (HRAMF), the independent financial authority set up by Greece’s lenders to supervise until 2015 a €19bn privatization program, announced on 11 April that 14 out of 17 bidders for the DEPA Group have been cleared to participate in the second round of the process. Three companies were excluded for either failing to meet basic criteria or failing to meet the 1 April deadline. The bidders have been asked by HRAMF to submit an initial indicative offer. The 14 remaining bidders for state gas utility DEPA, with or without state gas grid operator DESFA, in which the state will maintain a 34% stake, are: Russia’s Gazprom Finance; Russia’s OJSC Negusneft; Italy’s Eni; Italy’s Edison; Spain’s Enagas; Spain’s Gas Natural; Greece’s Motor Oil and Mytilineos; Greece’s GEK Terna; Japan’s Mitsui; Azerbaijan’s Socar; Algeria’s Sonatrach; Holland’s Vopak; the Israel Corporation; and the Czech Republic’s PPF Capital Partners Fund. The planned sale of DEPA has revived Gazprom’s interest in supplying gas to Southeast Europe via the South Stream pipeline (MEES, 9 April).

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